The sealant between the shower tray and aqua board cracks after a short period of time due to movement when anyone steps into the shower. Can anyone recommend a shower trim or siloconing advice to prevent this reoccurring? I’m starting to get slight staining on my freshly decorated living room ceiling. The movement in the shower tray when stepping into it is only a couple of mm but in a couple of areas the aqua panel doesn’t sit flush on the tray. I think the plumber cut it with his teeth! Any advice we’ll appreciated.
You need (in long term) to re-fit the shower tray with a new support block stuck to the underside. Shower makers usually use a piece of 'liner board" with waterproofing - to support the base.
I don't think there is any quick solution that will avoid leaks ruining the ceiling below (other than perhaps drilling a small hole in the side of the base - and feeding in some Hi-Ex foam with a long nozzle to support the base? Plug the hole with a white plastic grommet after?
Surely the silicone should be flexible enough to allow for a small amount of movement?
I've always used a high modulus white sealant from Arbosil but there are many bathroom sealants available over the counter.
It does sound like the shower tray needs to be reseated though.
Dow 785 from places like screwfix is one of the best sealants you can get for your type of application.
Have you been using a decent silicon sealant?
One thing you can do is put some weight on the tray before re-applying silicone.This is especially true if the tray is GRP or similar as these tend to flex quite a bit. If its a resin tray then it's unlikely to flex much unless v poorly fitted. As has been mentioned, Dow 785 is a v. good choice and I've been using it for years and recommend it highly.A couple of bags of sand in the tray (approximate the weight of a person) will cause the tray to deflect a little. Gun the silicone in and smooth off and once the silicone has set, remove the weight. Effectively the silicone will be compressed a little until someone stands in the tray when it will stretch to the neutral state in which it was applied.
When someone uses the tray the silicone should then be better able to cope with any movement.
HTH
I think so its EverBuild superior silicone sealant with SteriTouch 10 yr anti mould protectionOriginally Posted by Nigel306
Try to leave a good build up of silicon between the board and tray, a fugi is what I use, it makes silicon application easy and neat. You can pick up some cheap ones off eBay.
Is there any possibility that the leakage onto your ceiling below - is from the base flexing and causing the drain pipework to flex also?
Round about the drain trap would be a favourite.
Have used this product a few times as it allows for a bit more movement than silicone.
Although i would still sort out the flex in the tray as well if possible.
https://www.wickes.co.uk/Homelux-Ult...-Plus/p/140738
Thats what i was considering, along with a similar product Trimlux Reg 25, both surfaces are straight i.e the tray and aqua board so should sit nicely.
All pipework is solvent welded and the stain is where the wall meets the ceiling, which points to the seal between the tray and aqua board.
You can try this http://www.wilko.com/fillers+sealant...m/invt/0288922
It adheres well and should cater for a few mm movement. Only issue is it gets brittle after a number of years and then starts to crack, but easily replaced
What a coincidence, my shower tray has been leaking drops of water into the kitchen below. So I spent the afternoon ripping out the old sealant and the splodging on some new silicone sealant. My problem is that my stupid build left too large a gap between the tiles and shower tray which means I have to lay a bead about 12mm to make sure the top overlaps onto the tiles.
If you have access to the underside of your tray you might be able to wedge some hardboard under the tray to stop it moving? I’ve also heard of some builders laying a weak scread and bedding the tray onto that, again to stop tray movement.
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